An Uncovered Secret
by RnbwXSprinkles
Summary: How did Lily find out about Remus? And how did it effect her relationship with the Marauders?
1. Incident in the Common Room

It had been three weeks into the school year and I still couldn't believe I had been made Head Boy. Who, in their right mind would make me, James Potter, Head Boy? Dumbledore, that's who.

But maybe he wasn't completely in his right mind. Sirius has even gone so far as to suggest that Dumbledore was happily drunk and happened to think of my name… not me, just my name… and appoint me as Head Boy.

Sirius was very unhappy when he woke up the next day sprouting tentacles where his hair had once been.

"James…. Jaaaames…. JAMES!" A familiar voice lurched me out of my thoughts. I looked up, still grinning from the memory of Sirius' reaction after noting the fact that he no longer had the hair he was vainly proud of.

"James… why are you grinning like that? It never means anything good..." Sirius backed up, looking slightly wary, but very amused at the same time. I laughed.

"Don't worry, Sirius. I was just remembering the shock on your face this summer." Sirius looked confused, but that wasn't unusual- his short attention span causes him to not bother with memories- so I cleared it up for him. "You know… the mirror… the tentacles… don't tell me you forgot!" I exclaimed, mockingly concerned.

Sirius paused, and then looked up, horror in his eyes. "Don't ever do that again! I swear… if you do…" he threatened, though a glint of laughter still danced in his eyes.

We both looked up as the portrait hole opened revealing Remus Lupin, my second best mate. Remus looked from me, sitting on a couch, to Sirius, kneeling before me on the floor, with a look of confusion.

"Is Sirius asking you to marry him?" he laughed, and then straightened.

"Actually, I don't think I want to know," he claimed.

"Oh, but you do!" I said. Sirius shot daggers at me with his eyes. I glanced at him, grinning, apparently unconcerned, "You really, really do!"

"Okay, then. Tell me"

Sirius groaned. "C'mon Prongs! That's completely unfair! I'm on bended knee here!"

"Ah yes, but you never said not to tell anyone what happened." And so I proceeded to tell Remus about Sirius' episode that summer. By the time I was done, I had a group of people gathered around me, all laughing, doubled over, and very much enjoying themselves.

Except for one person. It was her. Lily Evans: Head Girl, fellow Quidditch player- chaser, top potions maker of the class, Hogwarts beauty, and the girl I've fancied since first sight. She, of course, was glaring at me, disgusted most likely at the fact that I even prank my best friend.

"Do you have something to say, Evans darling?" I asked.

"I can't believe you! You even terrorize your friends!" Ah! I knew it, "You disgust me. You are the most despicable, loathsome/creature/ I have ever had the misfortune to meet!" Ouch. But nothing I hadn't heard before.

"Yeah, I'll log that away in my memory. However, I can't promise you that I'll care."

"Fine! You-!"

"SHUT UP!" Sirius roared. I jumped, surprised. "Keep it to yourself!"

Remus' eyes were open wide. I was pretty sure my face reflected his.

"Erm… Padfoot?"

"Not now James," he snarled. I was silenced at the sound of my birth-name. Sirius stalked upstairs. If this had been a normal situation, I would have followed him to calm him before he hurt himself or others, but I didn't think he would even listen to me and didn't feel like waking up with a large amount of boils in very odd places… again.

I looked at Remus, about to ask him what the hell that was all about, when my other fellow Marauder, Peter Pettigrew slammed open the portrait (receiving a disgruntled remark from the Fat Lady containing words I shall not say here), and stomped through the entrance, right up to me and Remus and said, very loudly, "I got detention!"

Uh-oh, I knew where this was going, but I couldn't let it show. "What _ever_ for Wormtail?" I asked, making a very good show of acting innocently. Remus snorted. Like I could ever be innocent.

Peter, however, was seething, "It seems that a certain someone-" he glared at me for a moment, "-hung Snivelly off a banister by his hair! I, who happened to merely be at the wrong place at the wrong time, received all the blame!" Okay, so maybe I didn't know where this was going.

"Gross. Like I would touch Snivelly's hair! That's disgusting."

Remus looked surprised, "So you didn't do it James?"

"No!"

We all looked at each other. "Sirius!" we said in unison. No wonder he had been in a worse mood than usual. Snivellus must've done something really bad for Sirius to do something without telling us, and not to mention touch Snape's hair


	2. An Unhealthy Grudge: Trust or Not

I couldn't believe it. Regulus, who I had know all my life- and loved, though I would no longer admit it- had truly gone over. He was an actual Hogwarts Death Eater. How could he? He was never a killer. Never. Just a coward. And now…

He must've changed, I thought grimly to myself. A change that was definitely for the worse. I walked down the hall, desperately trying not to run. If I could've just ran, I would've felt so much better, but I would not give my idiot brother the satisfaction of seeing that he had gotten to me.

Turning the corner, I finally ran. No one could see me here. No one could see the tears gathering in my eyes. No one could see them trickling down my face. Or so I thought.

I met something solid. With a grunt, I fell backward onto the floor. I looked up. It was Snivellus.

"Well, well," he said softly. "What have we here? Sirius Black all alone? I wonder if he's nearly as brave without his friends? And oh look, the answer seems to be right in front of me. Only a few minutes away from his friends, and Black is crying."

"Shut it, Snivellus!" I said through clenched teeth.

"Why Sirius, you aren't upset that your brother's a Death Eater are you? After all, it isn't right for you to hold him back from making decent decisions…" he smirked, knowing he had struck a nerve.

"No!" I shouted, "I would never have held my brother back! At least not from decent decisions!"

"Ah. If you say so, Black. Regulus, strangely, speaks highly of you. He says your mother was devastated after you ran away. Says she cried for days. I think, however, that she couldn't possibly be devastated about you. Are you sure she wasn't merely annoyed that you happened to not burn all the pictures of yourself before leaving?"

I'd had enough, "Furnunculus!" I had hit my mark, causing Snape to acquire a large amount of boils in a small amount of time. It was a favorite curse of mine and had even been used once on James.

I laughed. Snape, however, did not look at all amused. "You'll pay for that, you filthy blood-traitor!" He screamed, eyes popping, "Cruc-!"

I knew what he was on to at once, but I was ready, "Petrificus Totalus!" Snape fell over, helpless; just the way I liked him. I had an idea of what to do with him. I was probably going to need tons of disinfectant after this, but I had a feeling it would be worth it.

Levitating Snivellus over to the stairs, I placed down my wand (still performing "Wingardium Leviosa") and, reluctantly grasping Snape's disgusting, greasy hair (I told you this would require disinfectant), I tied him to the banister of the staircase near the Slytherin common room. Excellent.

What I didn't hear was someone else walking down the hallway, muttering as if completely lost.

* * *

"So then Professor McGonagall comes walking down the hall, rants about how disgusted she is that a Gryffindor would do something as dishonorable to the school as tie a helpless student to the stairs. Nag, nag, nag, blah, blah, blah! And then she gave me detention and took fifty points from Gryffindor! Fifty!"

"Wow. That's harsh, Pete! Really harsh," I said. Peter was always the unlucky one, and I was always sympathetic about that.

"Yeah, tough luck, mate," James said. He wasn't quite so sympathetic, but he could tell it wasn't a good thing to show that he didn't care at the moment.

"I'm going to bed," Peter muttered. I could tell he didn't really feel like continuing any grudges that might have started inside him at this point. That was another thing about Peter that I respected. He wanted people to be on good terms with him. Unfortunately, no one ever was. I, however, sympathized with that and tolerate him. I'm basically the only one.

An awkward silence thickened between James and me. To my great pleasure, James broke it first.

"So, Moony, full moon's in a few days."

"Yeah." I was slightly wary, and completely aware of the fact that James just needed something to talk about.

"We should start planning as soon as Sirius is in a better mood."

"Yeah, sure" I shifted awkwardly. I didn't really feel like having this conversation, and I could tell James knew this.

"Well, I'll just go to bed I guess." He said, apparently feeling the tension growing. I nodded, watching him walk to and up the stairs. Strange. He didn't show any reaction towards Lily, whom he had just walked right past. I wondered at this for a few minutes, and then, unable to think of anything else to do, made my way tiredly up the stairs.

The next morning, I felt strangely tired. It was still strange to me, although it occurred monthly. It was the usual tiredness that warned me of the coming full moon.

Groaning, I sat up, and pulled open the bed-hangings. Looking around, I could clearly see that I was the only one left in the dormitory. I slept later than everyone else and was still more tired and weak-looking than them all.

It really wasn't fair, but at least no one (besides James, Sirius, and Peter of course) had discovered the reason behind my less-than-lively appearance. For that I was grateful, and I was confident that none of my friends would betray me, and tell someone without my permission.

Of course, I had been wrong. Only last year, Sirius had led Snape to discovering my "condition" through a foolhardy prank. Sirius thought it would be funny if he told Snape that if he prodded the knothole in the Whomping Willow, and stepped inside the resulting tunnel, he would see something to his advantage.

That something had been me. Sirius, of course had thought it harmless (it had been a horrible year for him last year, resulting in more rash acts than usual, and causing Sirius to later run away and stay with James). Luckily, how ever, James had found out what Sirius had done, came after Snape, and saved him from me. Sirius was almost expelled, and it had taken a long time for me to forgive him.

However, even after that, I was pretty confident that Sirius had learned his lesson, and that no one else could possibly be as dumb as he is, and therefore no one could possibly even think of betraying my secret. I should stop trusting people.


	3. Day of the Full Moon

I felt awful. I know I shouldn't feel guilty, it wasn't my fault, but someone had to. Remus looked horrible. And I mean _horrible_. As in worse than usual, which is really quite bad to begin with. I wish I knew what it was. It happened so often, but every time, I felt just as bad and half surprised as if it was still only happening for the first time.

"Hello! Earth to Lily! Does Houston have another problem?" I realized I had been staring. Meanwhile Madison, my best friend, had realized what (who, really) I had been staring at. "A _boy_ problem?" she finished cheekily, grinning. I blushed. Why do I always have to blush?

"No! I do _not_ have a boy problem!" I cried, playfully slapping Madison's shoulder.

"Poor Lily," she sighed dramatically, "Trapped in a one-sided romance, desperately searching for love in the sorrow-filled gaze of none other than" here she paused dramatically, finishing with a grand flourish towards that said love-object, "Remus Lupin!"

Remus seemed to have heard his name, for he lifted his head, searching for the speaker. His gaze fell on me. I shook my head slightly, suddenly pausing in the barely noticeable action as I gazed back. Madison was right.

Remus' eyes were filled with sorrow. When he looked away, it was even with a sorrowful, little subconscious shake of the head, as if he was used to being constantly disappointed with himself, or used to letting people go, just to be alone.

After he looked away, I sneaked a glance at Madison's face. She was smiling knowingly. "What?" I asked her, "What?"

"Oh nothing Lil'. Nothing," she said unconvincingly as we stood up to move onto our classes.

After all the classes had finished, I am sorry to say that Madison did indeed get on my nerves. She was _still_ hinting at me liking Remus. She just wouldn't leave me alone! When I would tell her to stop, she would just say "Sure, Lil', whatever you say" and then just start up again in a few minutes. I swear, right in the middle of the common room! Remus could have (and probably did) heard. So, instead of getting in a row, I calmly stated that I wanted to be alone. And walked outside to the lake.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was large, a shimmering white ball of light, casting amazing blue shadows, and reflecting itself in the great lake. The giant squid swam lazily across the surface.

I took in the view while sitting on the shore of the lakes, letting the minuscule waves trickle around me. The whole scene was beautiful. That is until I noticed someone exiting the castle and casually walking over to me.

* * *

I couldn't believe it. Whether I was human at the moment or not, the pain of it all was indescribable. I whined and stumbled back. This wasn't going to be a good day. I faded in and out of consciousness as I watched James charge towards the wolf, knocking Remus over and causing him to smash his head against the wall.

Remus' form shuddered. It wasn't the form I was used to. It wasn't Remus, the polite, caring marauder. It was Remus, the bloodthirsty werewolf. It was Remus of the full moon. James to seemed to be thinking this, thinking of what we had done. Peter was hiding in relative safety, as he could do nothing else because of his animal form's small size.

James turned around, thinking the fight was over. But Remus didn't seem to agree, for he jumped up, running at James, ready to strike. Not if I could help it. I don't know, with that thought, I seemed to have lunged and gotten in the way of the werewolf about to attack my best friend. I could feel myself slashing, and biting, attacking. Remus was falling. He too was attacking even as he fell. One last swipe to the heart was all it took to bring me down.

* * *

"Sirius!" I shouted. I couldn't believe what had happened. Remus had attacked us all, even though we were in our animal forms. Making sure he had not managed to bite me, I changed back to human.

I ran back to the castle, we needed help. Oh, we would get in so much trouble, even if I thought of a way to make it look like we weren't illegal animagi. Oh crap. It was Lily. She might have seen me, but she might not have. She also could be the help I was looking for.

Flinging on my invisibility cloak (it was always kept at the foot of the Whomping Willow), I walked past her right into the entrance hall. I took off the cloak, stuffed it in my robes, and walked towards her, trying to act casual. I was getting nearer.

"Hey, Evans!"

"What now, Potter?" I chose to ignore that.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked, trying to seem innocent.

"Just get on with it!" Uh-oh, now she was annoyed. I stopped beating around the bush. I was just about to ask her for her help when she interrupted.

"Why don't you just go bother your friends?"

"I can't," I said quietly, "Two're unconscious, and one's missing."

"What?" Damn it, now she was confused. I'm horrible at this. I had to tell Remus' secret.

"Just follow me, Lily! Please" Oh, great, so now I was pleading. The things this girl can do to me. It's scary.

"Okay." Her tone and voice softened and she followed me.


	4. A Shocking Scene

I wouldn't have gone. I really wouldn't have. James' voice was just so sad; so anguished; I couldn't help it. I'm not heartless, not even towards him.

As I followed him, I realized where we were headed.

"Are you trying to get us killed!" I shrieked.

He turned around, his face still held the same pleading look as before. I immediately softened, but not too much.

"Please, Lils, just follow me."

"Don't _ever_ call me Lils," I muttered threateningly. We continued on. Closer to the Whomping Willow. I couldn't help it; instinctively I drew closer to James. He grasped my arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I think I surprised both of us when I didn't pull away.

Picking up a long stick, James prodded a knothole in the tree. The tree automatically froze and a passageway appeared between two thick roots. I uttered a small, half-stifled scream. James did the last thing I wanted him to do. He led me under the tree, warning me to duck.

* * *

Lily looked so scared. It made me feel awful, but it had to be done.

"Lily," I said softly, "You're going to see something horrible. It scared me, and I knew what I was seeing. Just promise me to make as little noise as possible. Promise?" she nodded, her eyes glistening with tears of horror, her hand covering her mouth, which was arranged in a silent gasp.

I led her further down the tunnel, stooping low, ceiling still touching my back. I found myself hoping that she wasn't claustrophobic. I shook the thought out of my head. Straightening to a complete standing position, we stepped into the room and observed the scene.

I had to admit she took it well. A small gasp was the only sign of her fear as she walked slowly around the room.

"Are you insane?" She whispered loudly, "You brought me down here to see a werewolf!" she looked at Sirius, "What happened to the dog?"

I took a deep breath. "You know the dog" I said flatly, "The dog is Sirius" As if to prove my point, Sirius took a huge, shuddering breath and changed back; dog slowly changing to man. That didn't mean anything good. It meant Sirius' strength was at an all-time low.

"Lily, we need to get Sirius to the Hospital wing."

"First tell me how this happened!" She nudged Remus hesitantly with her toe. "Who's the werewolf?"

"Ah. But you know him too."

"So who is he?" I sighed. I really shouldn't be telling her, but I had to, I needed her help, "Remus, it's Remus. Every full moon, me, Sirius, and Peter meet here, change into our animals and meet Remus here. We wander around the castle grounds, the castle, and Hogsmeade."

"I don't believe you. Remus can't be a werewolf. He's kind. Werewolves are horrible," she said. Fine. I didn't need her to believe me, yet.

"How about we stop arguing, bring Sirius up to the hospital wing, tell Madam Pomfrey that we found him like this by the Whomping Willow and then I'll prove to you that Remus is the werewolf." She looked at me suspiciously, but then nodded.

"You're right, we need to get Sirius out of here."

* * *

We headed back up to the castle. I couldn't believe James would make the excuse that the werewolf was Remus. Yeah right! I can't believe James lied just so Sirius could get away with fighting and sneaking around school grounds.

I had to admit, though, Sirius looked awful. There was blood everywhere. His body was filled with cuts, gashes, scrapes bruises, everything. Looking up at James, I realized he looked pretty bad too. He was limping, had deep scratches on his arms, legs, back, and chest, and a small but deep gash on the back of his neck.

Years of Quidditch (and vanity) seemed to have taught both him and Sirius to protect their faces, though, because neither of them had more than a scratch on their face. Even the few small scratches on their faces were no where near the eyes and none were deep enough to mar their facial features.

"James?" He jumped at the sound of his first name, I always called him 'Potter', "Are you… erm… okay?" I asked quietly, trying to keep my voice flat. However, it shook, and poured sympathy. Damn.

"I'm fine, Lil', are you?" I nodded. I was fine, and so was he. We were going to be okay. Why did I think "we" like that? And why did that "we" not include Sirius. I told myself it was because Sirius might not make it, but even then I knew it was something different. I would never think of James the same way again.

We finally reached the Hospital Wing. Dropping Sirius in an empty bed, we hurried to Madam Pomfrey.

"Madam Pomfrey!" James called out, "It's Sirius! He's hurt!" Madam Pomfrey entered the room, looking irritated. "We found him by the Whomping Willow!"

"Leave him here, and go back to your dormitories. And don't let me see you near that tree again!" she shouted after us. I would have been happy to obey her, but something about James made me follow him instead. Right back to where we started.


	5. A Secret Revealed

I knew Lily didn't want to go back, but I also knew she would. As a matter of fact, she did more than that, she herself led the way. Picking up the stick, poking the inside of the knothole, even leading the way through the passage. But before we reached the room, I had to intervene.

"Wait," I said, "We have to make sure he's still out, or he'll bite you and ... well… you know." Without waiting for so much as a nod, I signaled for her to stay there, changed into a stag, and cautiously entered the room. It was a relieving yet half-remorseful sight to see that Remus was still, indeed, unconscious. I returned to Lily.

"Well, all's clear and daylight's in about an hour."

"But what if he wakes before that?" I shifted my weight uncomfortably. I hadn't thought of that. "Well," she continued, "I think I have an idea." Following her lead, I walked into the room. Us. Together. Alone. In a room. With a Werewolf. Well… almost perfect.

* * *

The last thing I wanted to do was walk into that room again. But at least this time I was prepared for what I saw.

"Petrificus Totalus!" I said, quickly pulling out my wand. James looked slightly embarrassed.

"I should've thought of that." He muttered as he conjured a stretcher. I looked at him, puzzled.

"We could at least put him on the bed." James said, shrugging. I nodded in agreement. I approved of this James. He really didn't mess around when it came to his friends. This really must be Remus. I admit, however, that I was still in denial. How dare James pretend this werewolf was Remus just so he could spend time with me.

My face must have hardened at that point, for James, who had been gazing at me intently, looked away, a dejected expression on his face.

"James?" I took a deep breath, "Is something wrong?" He looked up, surprised.

"It's just," he started, sounding hesitant, "You don't believe me do you?" I couldn't help it; I shook my head, no. I didn't believe him. I was still in a state of flat-out denial.

"Well, then I'll prove it to you." He said.

He walked over to the other side of the room looking annoyed. After a while of silence, during which I took the time to think it all out rationally, I believed him. But I couldn't admit that, he was avoiding my gaze, so I couldn't even smile at him to pull him out of his grim mood. I also couldn't stand admitting to something like this. Besides, I was too tired for an argument.

* * *

Lily had been strangely quiet. I knew she was tired, but even a tired Lily isn't silent for almost an hour strait. Looking over, I found that she was fast asleep. Fighting the urge to go over to her and place her head in my lap, I simply walked over and sat down next to her. I was ready to wake her up so she could see that it was Remus.

Although I wasn't technically supposed to be telling her about all this, it was tearing me apart that she didn't believe me. I gazed at her with what was, I have to admit, a longing expression. The small rays of light sinking through the cracks in the boards blocking the windows lit her up just enough for me to see that her face was serene. Her hair glowed, a fiery, bright thing of color, contrasting with the dark, dull brown of the rest of the room.

My thoughts were interrupted by the realization that it was light. Therefore Remus was changing. "Lily! Wake up!"

* * *

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, a small amount of sunlight was seeping through random cracks, and James was shaking my shoulder, calling my name.

But the most startling change was one much more important. The werewolf (I still refused to think of it as Remus) was changing. Paws changed to human hands, fur changed to smooth skin. I watched in horror, frozen to the spot.

"Crap." James muttered, fumbling for his wand. I didn't bother listening as he removed the full-body lock that I had placed on the werewolf. I couldn't stand what happened afterwards. The body started convulsing violently. Twitching and writhing. As the body returned to human form; as the mind became once again sane.

"James!" I was fully aware that I was shrieking, but I didn't care, "James! I can't stand this! Please! Make him stop moving! Body-bind him! Something!" Just as suddenly as it started the writhing stopped, the transformation had been completed, revealing Remus' face. "No!" I whispered, collapsing to the floor, heaving a huge sob. Crying. Crying for my friend.

I could feel James holding me. Tentatively at first, but then lovingly, as if daring me to pull back. When I didn't, I could feel James hesitantly gathering me in closer, into a tighter embrace. I let him, burying my face into his chest, willing myself to be soothed by his repeated words, "It's okay, Lils. It's going to be okay. Lily, Lily, Lily…"

* * *

I woke up to the sounds of crying. With a groan I remembered what had happened. Forcing my eyes open, I looked towards the direction of the sound. No! How could he? He wouldn't. But he did.

"James?" I said, feeling betrayed. So betrayed, so frustrated, I wanted to cry. Oh yes, the crying was Lily. James had told Lily what I was. Had shown her what I was. She was crying of fear. Hatred and fear, and disgust. After all, she did end up liking a werewolf.

James looked up at me. He looked horrified; probably because he had lost Lily for sure with this revelation. "Moony. Moony. I swear! I wouldn't ever have-"

"No!" I shouted, "No! You promised! You said you would never tell!"

"Remus," I jumped, it was Lily, her voice soft and weak from crying, "Remus, I don't care that you're a werewolf, really! I mean I care. I'm sorry for you. But I still like you. You're still the same person as ever." I calmed down. Just a little. I still couldn't bring myself to forgive James. Not yet.

"I'm going to the Hospital Wing," I muttered. Both James and Lily came over to me, ready to support me if there was any need.

"Lily?" I asked, "Why were you crying?" she gazed at me a moment before answering.

"Simple, dear Remus. I can't stand seeing _friends_ in pain."

"Forgive me Remus," James pleaded, "Please. I only told her because I needed help getting Sirius to the Hospital Wing. Please." I couldn't help it. With that last whispered 'please', I forgave him.

I was overwhelmed by emotions: happiness, and care. So much care for the two people helping me through this moment. Happiness for them too. After all, who wouldn't have recognized the spark running through their eyes when they looked at each other? I knew I was looking at future Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I knew I was a friend to them, both of them, as well as Peter and Sirius. After the long struggle that had taken place so far in my life, I felt loved.

And that made me happy.


End file.
